Tropical Storm Erin formed Monday in the far eastern Atlantic, becoming the fifth named storm of the 2025 season, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The 11 a.m. EDT advisory placed Erin’s center just west of the Cabo Verde Islands with top sustained winds near 45 mph and a westward motion of about 20 mph, roughly 2,000 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands. Forecasters expect the cyclone to move into warmer waters with minimal wind shear, allowing it to strengthen into the year’s first Atlantic hurricane by late Thursday or early Friday and to reach at least Category 3 intensity over the weekend. The current track shows the core passing near or just north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico between Saturday and Sunday, with tropical-storm-force winds possible on those islands. Most reliable computer models project a northward turn early next week that would steer the storm away from the U.S. mainland, though the NHC cautioned that five-day forecast errors remain large and residents from Florida to New England, as well as Bermuda, should stay alert. Regardless of the exact path, Erin is expected to generate rough surf and dangerous rip currents along the U.S. East Coast next week as the Atlantic basin enters its climatological peak of hurricane season.